Life. Clients. Family & Saying Goodbye.

Life, clients, family and saying goodbye. I worked really hard for 5 years working under an employer perfecting my skills and gaining clientele before I made the move to venture on my own. Fast forward 3 years, I've now had a successful business being my own boss. When I found out in December 2015 I was going to bring a baby into this world, a lot went through my mind. What will happen to my clients? Where will they go once I'm on maternity leave ? What will happen to everything I've worked so hard for?
Being in the beauty industry and being on your own, I had two options.
Option #1. Go back to work right after the baby is born so I don't loose my clientele and what I've worked so hard for.
Or Option #2. Take my 12 month maternity leave and come back to work starting from square one.
A lot of fear came over me thinking I'd have to start over, lose everything and my amazing cliental, so I chose option 1. I had my beautiful baby girl and came back to work eight weeks later. Thankfully I have a lot of help at home. I can't say it's been easy leaving my newborn with my mom or mother-in-law while I go back to work. It's definitely been a struggle. But I have somehow made it work. We just celebrated my daughter's first birthday on August 5th. Just before her birthday we found out more exciting news. She is going to be a big sister! We will have another baby come January 2018. After the news , we're going to be parents of two under two, finally sunk in the discussion of me taking time off work came up again. Although I have the same options I did a year and a half ago, things are different this time around. I can't rely on the grandmas watching two babies for me anymore. It's a lot to ask of them. This time option 1 isn't going to work for me. Preparing on telling my clients what my new plans are for my business was scary, and sad. I have decided to become a stay-at-home mom, I need to focus on my babies. They need me more than my clients do. I'm going to miss working and making women feel beautiful, and I'm going to miss the amazing loyalty I've received over the past eight years through all my transitions. Clients become more than just a client they become a friend some even become like family. I'm not just saying goodbye to clients, I'm saying goodbye to friends I've known for almost 8 years. This was the hardest part for me. Realizing I wasn't going to see these amazing ladies anymore, share my stories and hear theirs, cry and laugh and be apart of their lives anymore. I wasn't sure if I was ready to say goodbye yet. I love what I do and love my time away from "Moming". But it's time for me to focus on my own family now. I'm also saying goodbye to my work family, my Purnama tribe. The girls at Purnama are probably the most talented bunch of girls I've ever met. Each one has so much talent to offer and I'm going to miss them. So here's to the next chapter in life. Being a mommy is my future. I love you all, each one of you has made a huge impression in my life and I hope I have in yours. Goodbye for now, peace, love and to new memories. xo Nicole
